


Dreams Are For Those Who Sleep

by besito



Series: when the monster finally- [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Flashbacks, Grief/Mourning, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24000349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/besito/pseuds/besito
Summary: Strange things start happening around the Harrington household, Steve visits the Byers.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Jonathan Byers & Steve Harrington, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Joyce Byers & Steve Harrington
Series: when the monster finally- [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724560
Kudos: 67





	Dreams Are For Those Who Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> title from 'Make It With You' by B.R.E.A.D
> 
> Hey, look at that, I edited this too

The day after Hopper's funeral, Steve wakes up shivering. He gags from the cold and tries not to remember tunnels, or houses, or pools as he wraps himself in the comforter he bought because Billy liked the color, and slams the window closed. He deserts the comforter on his way out the bedroom though, not emotionally prepared for the mildly judgemental look that will probably be on his father's face and his mother's drunk fretting. Can't decide if he feels disappointed or relieved when the note taped to the front door tells Steve he hadn't needed to worry. He should've just brought the comforter. 

Steve zones out in front of the dark TV while he waits for his toast. The blinds are open, probably his mother's doing before they left. He wonders if she remembered how terrified he used to be of the dark, how she used to open the blinds and turn on the main lights whenever they left too late or early to wake him, it would be the first time in years she'd acknowledged it. But then again, James is the sun that Marcella spins around and it would only make sense for this to be mindless.Thinking about her makes his stomach sour, Billy used to even things out, made it all bearable to talk about. 

The toaster dings softly, the TV fuzzes to life. It's nothing, Steve thinks, it's nothing. But he doesn't bother putting on shoes before he walks out of the front door, his basketball shoes are still in the trunk anyway. He probably doesn't bother to lock up either and that's not, that's not a good habit but it doesn't matter. The only person who would've "broken in" is Billy and Billy is- Billy is..

"Stop thinking about him." Steve begs himself while he backs out of the driveway.

"Stop thinking about him." He begs again when he turns the first left, then the second.

"Stop thinking about him." He says while he pulls into the Byers driveway. 

Jonathan's sitting on the porch stairs, joint held loosely between his fingers. He wordlessly hands it over when Steve slumps beside him, now a tradition after monster fighting or after nightmares about monster fighting. His friendship with Jonathan is probably the most complicated, at least it looks it to the rest of their peers from Hawkins Hell. Steve can kinda understand, Jonathan beat his face in _and_ stole his girl, even with Billy it seemed so much simpler. 

"I think we're moving." Steve lays back and watches the smoke billow up towards the sky, isn't really surprised by what Jonathan's just revealed.

"Good." 

"Good?" Jon falls back beside him and plucks the joint from Steve's fingers. 

"Yeah, I mean, you guys deserve to get out of here. It's, it's been an intense couple of years." He half laughs.

"You could say that again." Jon scoffs and they lay quietly for a while, smoking until it burns their fingertips. Steve can tell things are going to get a little more intense when Jonathan glances at him for the third time and still doesn't say anything while he opens and closes his mouth like a fish. 

"Spit it out, Byers."

"I just- are you okay, Steve?" He was honestly expecting something about Nancy or the kids or Hopper. People don't ask him like that, not outside of small talk or unless it's in relation to an injury. Not if they aren't Nancy or Dustin or Billy and Dustin's just a kid and Nancy's his ex and Billy's _dead_ , so. Steve sits up, hoping the pressure on his chest isn't planning to stay for long. 

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He risks a glance where Jon's still laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. 

"I'm not the one who watched my best friend die less than a week ago." Right, best friend. That's what him and Billy are- _were_ in public, the reconciled Kings of Hawkins. 

"I know but y'know I meant...Hop." Jonathan takes a deep breath and nods his head but stays quiet, makes it clear he's waiting to see if Steve has more to say. Jon doesn't pressure for answers the way Nancy does, he just waits, waits with more patience than normal people should have. "I'm okay or I'm- I'm trying to be. That's all I've really got right now." Jonathan reaches up and squeezes his shoulder.

"Mom's taking it really hard, I mean with Bob and now Hopper.. She tries to hide it but…She was already thinking about us moving and I guess this was just the final straw. She doesn't want Will or El to keep being bombarded with bad memories every corner they turn, can't really blame her." Jon sighs but smiles weakly when Steve catches his eye. 

___

They walk together to Steve's car in the early evening. Him and Joyce had tried to convince Steve to stay for dinner but this is the longest he's been out of the house since the whole fiasco part three started and he really misses his bed. 

"Nice seein' you." Jonathan says and watches from the yard as the beemer slowly makes its way down the road. When Steve gets home, the TV's off, which whatever, it's whatever. He'd never planned on telling the Byers what happened, it's just a TV turning itself on and now off. They've all been through enough, why worry them about something that probably has a good and sane explanation. Steve walks through the house and flicks on every light in every room, tells himself that he needs to get a good night's sleep for once.

He's in the kitchen when he hears the familiar _snick_ of the record player turning on.

___

"Baby, will you please come back to bed, you're being paranoid." Billy's following him through the house, watching as Steve turns on all the lights. It's such a waste of electricity, no doubt the bill will be astronomical.

"I'm not being paranoid." Steve huffs, he'd left the bedroom light off so Billy could go back to sleep, it's not his fault the asshole decided to follow him throughout the house.

"Steve-" 

"Fuck off!" The silence that follows is deafening. Steve isn't usually the one who loses his shit, Steve is sarcastic but never loud like that. Billy turns on his heel and walks out of the kitchen before he can follow up with anything else. He didn't mean to, Billy hadn't done anything, not really. Steve is just on edge, always on edge but today he woke with his skin feeling too loose, like it can't possibly hold him all together and this _feeling_ like something's about to go horribly wrong once again. He isn't used to waking up being this unsettled anymore.

Steve braces himself with his arms on the island counter, eyes closed while he holds his breath for the sound of a door slamming but all he hears is the familiar crackle of the record player coming to life.

"Stevie," Billy wraps himself around Steve's back, squeezes tight for one long second and then spins Steve around to face him. "Come dance with me." And Steve can't say no cause he's just so, so relieved that Billy didn't leave. They sway together in the living room, Steve's eyes slipping closed again while Billy softly hums with the song. He presses a kiss to the hinge of Billy's jaw and can't help but smile when his stubble tickles Steve's mouth.

___

_"And if you're wondering what this song is leading to, I want to make it with you."_

Billy's still crooning in his ear while Steve hurriedly walks over to remove the vinyl from the player. He leans against a side table that he's pretty sure isn't an antique, that he's pretty sure weighs over seventy pounds so there won't be any damage for his mother to find next time they grace Steve with their presence. He tries to calm his stuttering breath, counting like Hop once recommended.

"Fuck. _Fuck!_ " Steve slams his hand on the hard wood of the table and stomps to his mom's art room where she keeps the good wine with her paints in the blue cabinet. He's dead-set on ignoring any other supernatural occurrences or he's afraid he might just lose his mind. 

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a weird couple of days and I haven't had a lot of time to write but I wanted to get something done so here we are.. I know where I want this to go but I never planned how I'm going to get there so currently just going with the flow and hoping for the best
> 
> Anyway, hope y'all are well


End file.
